Mar 21 CULINARY ARTISTRY FIT FOR A TENNŌ

It was one of the mildest evenings of the year so far, full of whispers promising the coming of spring, as my friend and I parked our bikes in front of Karma Sushi’s inviting high-end facade.

We were greeted with an even warmer welcome by its friendly and attentive staff, who guided us to our table as we took in the restaurant’s tasteful and elegant interior design.

Perfection in every detailIf there is one thing many associate with Japanese culture, it’s perfection to the last detail. It is a philosophy Karma Sushi has evidently internalised, where the chopsticks too are noticeably better made and from finer wood than your average restaurant chopsticks.

Lemon, lime, cucumber, and mint infused water was brought to our table as we scrolled through the menu as if it were a map of different routes leading to tasty little treasures we couldn’t possibly pick between, closely followed by the Mono cocktail.

Tropical explosionNow I must point out that I don't really drink alcohol as I rarely like the taste of it. However, the Mono cocktail combined fresh passion fruit, sea-buckthorn, lemon, and vodka in such a truly delicious manner that it had the power to convert me for a night.

The waiter then thankfully came to our salvation and recommended Karma Sushi’s signature menu 'Signaturen' to us.

It was, without a doubt, the right choice.

Balancing act of genius Instead of everything being brought to the table at once, the Signaturen is served in four courses. The dishes that come together in each course are perfectly matched and complement each other in ways your taste buds will not be quick to forget.

First a wakami side salad accompanied the king crab and Norway lobster miso soup. The almonds in the seaweed salad added a brilliant crunch, and the miso soup was one of the best I’ve ever had.

Then some Baerii kaviar with avocado carpaccio sprinkled with crunchy goodness and sizzling salmon sashimi with salmon roe, scallion, lime and truffle crème. How I was able to live happily without this experience before I do not know now.

And then, as the tempura shrimp salad topped with chilli crème, cress and spicy sesame arrived with the cooked and split king crab with Japanese mayonnaise, we thought to ourselves that this must truly be the most glorious of endings.

We were wrong. We had barely come back to earth following our encounter with the succulent and tender white meat of the king crab, then two plates of sushi arrived that included tuna tatami, rainbow rolls, sizzling tuna rolls, karma crunch and other heavenly culinary jewels.

"Only a litter please"When we were asked if we had any wishes at the end of our meal, the only thing that seemed reasonable at this point was a litter to carry us home, so as to pay the food the respect it was due. Luckily, our bikes proved just as adept at the job.

While everything about our dining experience at Karma Sushi merged into one whole evening of bliss, every little piece of it was an event on its own.

So, if you only have one night in Copenhagen and want to dine out, this place comes with our warmest recommendations.